3490 meet 199999
by myPARABATAIisbetterthanyours
Summary: "Tony kneeled down by Fury and fumbled behind himself to grab a stick. Before Fury could stop him he poked the cube and the whole reality around them flickered. When Tony opened his eyes they were definitely not at the streets outside the Avengers Tower." Cosmic Cubes? Alternate Universes? Yes. The Avengers are soooooo screwed. T for language
1. Prologue

**AN: so these are going to be short increments but there'll be A LOT of them. I really hope you like them! I'm really enjoying writing them!**

* * *

><p>Prologue-<p>

"Tony Stark... let's see, what was the term you used? 'Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist'? Yes, well now what are you? A puny, sad, weak human being who can do nothing but make a fool of himself!" The Mandarin hissed. Tony narrowed his eyes and tried to choke out a response, but the Mandarin's hold around his neck cut off his vocals. He tried to activate his thrusters, but the suit was shot and the Mandarin's magic would keep him from retaliating. "Where are your friends now? They don't need you, they don't _want_ you!"

"Hey!" A voice cried. "Look up motherfucker!" Tony glanced to the side to find Clint. He had never been so glad to see Birdbrain in his entire life.

"Happy Independence Day," Steve shouted, leaping off an overhead balcony and swinging at the villain. The Cap's fist connected firmly with the Mandarin's jaw and made a loud cracking noise. "Get him Clint," Steve finished.

"With pleasure Cap." Clint grabbed their foe and clapped the specially designed handcuffs on him, then stripped the rings off his fingers.

Unfortunately, now that the Mandarin was in custody, Steve's attention would turn to Tony and seeing as the Ironman had disobeyed a direct order, the attention would be unwanted. Sure enough, Steve turned around and his eyes looked like daggers, ready to impale Tony happily.

"I did what I thought was right!" Tony snapped, picking himself up and brushing off.

"You did what would get you revenge!" Steve retorted. Tony sneered at America's golden boy.

"Guys!" Clint interrupted. Both turned and looked at him. "Did we even bother with a body scan? What is this?" He growled, holding up a clear cube.

"Tony?" Steve muttered.

"I don't know. JARVIS, scan," Tony answered, crouching. A moment passed and then a distinctly British voiced replied.

"The origins are unknown sir, but it appears to be in relation to that of the Tesseract. I'm afraid we may be dealing with an Infinity Stone sir." All three groaned.

"Well then, put it down Clint," Tony said. Clint gently placed the cube on the sidewalk. Then Natasha was there, her curly red hair was matted and grimy looking and she had a few cuts here and there but overall she seemed fairly unharmed. Tony resisted sneering at her innate ability to escape physical injuries.

"Clint? Steve? What's going on?" She asked.

"Oh sure, ignore the guy that just got strangled and thrown around by a madman!" Tony cried. She glanced at him.

"Obviously you're fine."

"The Mandarin had that on him," Steve answered, motioning to the cube on the ground. Suddenly the Mandarin cackled, it sounded sleazy and repulsed Tony.

"You have no idea how many enemies you have," the Mandarin cackled. "He gave it to me. And he gave this to me." And with that the robe-clad freak disappeared. Tony took a moment to process and then threw his faceplate.

"FUCK!" He screamed. Then the cube pulsed blue. Everyone stopped as Thor and Banner approached. Thor gave the cube a look.

"Friend Stark, the Lady Potts is across the street insisting upon seeing you. May I ask what the cube that is glowing is, friend Rogers?" Thor huffed. Tony looked up to see Pepper pushing past a police officer, with Jane in tow.

"It appears Jane has joined 'the Lady Potts'," Tony grumbled. Thor looked up to see the two women walking over. Pepper's scowl frightened Tony even more than the potential Infinity Stone before them. She stormed over to Tony and pulled him up off the ground.

"I cannot believe you! The news channels were broadcasting the fight everywhere! Did you think I wouldn't find out that you ignored Steve for some idiotic revenge?!" She shouted. Off to the side, Steve smirked.

"I had a shot!" Tony cried back.

"So did Steve! Nevermind, I'll deal with you later. Steve- Hill, Fury and Sam are on their way." Steve nodded and glared down at the cube. The pulsing was growing more noticeable with the development of a blue light in the center. Just as Pepper turned to glare at Tony, a Quinjet zipped in and lowered to landing. Tony grumbled something and sighed at the three figures exiting the jet; Fury in his long, black leather trench coat and Hill in her weird S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit.

Sam was the first to speak upon grouping up with the Avengers. He stared at the glowing cube with the others and then pursed his lips.

"So do we know what it is?" He asked. Steve shook his head.

"I'll get Banner on a containment unit, but for now this area is officially quarantined. Barton, go set up a perimeter." Clint nodded and stood. Fury set his fists against his hips and stared at the cube venomously. He crouched down and examined the cube.

"What should we do?" Steve asked. Tony kneeled down by Fury and fumbled behind himself to grab a stick. Before Fury could stop him he poked the cube and the whole reality around them flickered.

When Tony opened his eyes they were definitely not at the streets outside the Avengers Tower.


	2. Alternate Alteration Awkwardness

Chapter 1- Alternate Alteration Awkwardness

Toni swiped her fingers across the screen, sending the face time call to the wall screen. A human-sized version of Bruce Banner's face appeared on the screen.

"So we don't really have any new developments on the adamantium front, so Logan's a little... uh... pissed, but I'll continue working on that. Hank and I did get in contact with T'Challa though, so he'll be returning soon. Oh and Bucky returned finally." Toni nodded.

"Good, great actually. I'll relay that to Hill, she'll be glad to hear that," she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. Banner glanced back down at his clipboard and then sighed.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. Oh, and Steve says he'll be home around seven." Toni sighed and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright fine, tell him I'll make dinner then." Bruce nodded and the call ended. She set the mug down and turned to leave the conference room, but as she gripped the door handle the reality around her seemed to flash white. She blinked once and focused on what looked like some of the Avengers... plus one.

They seemed to be crowded around nothing in particular with Clint on the edge. Someone in ripped up Ironman gear stood and looked around. He met her stare and furrowed his brow. Toni's heart dropped into her stomach. She put a hand on the pistol at her side.

"Designation or I have the right to assume you are Skrull and I will shoot you where you stand," she snapped. They all gave her a look. She sighed. "Designation... now!" She hadn't wanted her Friday night to end this way; it was supposed to be easy so she could get home and go to sleep _without_ work on her mind. She cocked the pistol. Suddenly all their hands shot into the air except for the ones resembling Maria and Nick.

"Whoa! Whoa! Who are you?!" One of them cried. It was Steve. Well... not Steve per say, but a version of him.

"Antonia Maria Stark, Director of Tech at S.H.I.E.L.D. and I want your designation right now," she replied. The entire group's jaws dropped.

"Tony... um..." Clint muttered from the side. She kept her gun trained on Steve; he and Nick would obviously be the ones to take out first.

"So... you're telling me that your last name is Stark? Like Howard and Maria Stark?" The unidentified one asked. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes."

"Okay, okay, we don't know what you mean by designation but my name is-"

"Steven Grant Rogers, yeah I know." She brought a hand to her earpiece. "JARVIS get me Director Hill please." There was a pause as she waited.

"Yes Director, I believe we're either experiencing an encounter with the Skrull or some idiots from an alternate royally fucked up."

"I'm sorry, 'alternate'? What does that mean?" The not-Pepper demanded.

"She means an alternate version of us," Fury answered. Toni glanced at him. Pretty much the entire group except for Hill and Jane looked over at Fury.

"Excuse me? What have you not told us Fury?" One of them, the unknown one, snapped.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has been doing some advanced research on the concept with the help of Ms. Foster. We believe that there are... other-"

"Alternate universes. And it was Reed Richards who found that out, _not _S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury looked over at her right as Maria Hill entered. Her hair was short and gelled up in a slick wave, and she was wearing a darker-than-navy-blue jumpsuit.

"Designation?" She asked, addressing Toni. Toni shook her head and lowered her weapon, holstering it.

"No, they're clearly not... in time with the other alts," she answered. Hill sighed and put a hand on her hip, motioning to the men behind her to stand down with her other. She took in the group of people in front of her.

"Clint, Romanoff, Thor, Jane, Potts, Fury, Steve, Bruce, myself... and I guess you?" Hill muttered, glancing at Toni. Both stared at what could _only_ be Anthony Stark. "You... look different than the last Tony we encountered..." Maria said finally. Tony narrowed his eyes at the two women before him. "Go call Richards please; we're going to want his input. And Banner, we'll need him." Toni nodded and turned back around, entering the conference room.

As usual Reed answered looking flustered. His hair was disheveled and the bags under his eyes alluded to the fact that he probably hadn't slept in twenty-four hours. His gaze was cast to another computer which he was clearly occupied with.

"What can I do for you Stark?" He stopped and spun in his chair to face the camera. "Wait. Did Steve break another shield? T'Challa can only get me _so_ _much_ vibranium!" Toni shook her head.

"No! No, really Reed, he's fine. No we've got some alts here. They don't know what designation they're from so we need to figure that out so we can send them home," she answered. Richards sighed.

"How many more can possibly stumble into our universe?! It's getting agitating!" She nodded.

"Oh trust me Reed, I know. Look, we'll get you some blood samples and I'll call Bruce but coming down here tomorrow might be beneficial." He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I'll send Sue. Honestly, how man more times can alts possible fuck with my finely tuned schedule?" The call ended and Toni pulled up another call with Steve. There was a brief pause as the call connected and then Steve answered. She could hear the group quiet down outside the room, engrossed by a new version of one of their own.

"Hey," he huffed before punching someone in the face. She resisted the urge to grin.

"Hey, I know this is a bad time but could you possibly come back early? Or at least send Bruce back?" She heard him swing and slam his shield into someone else.

"Yeah, I'm a little busy. Can I ask why?" She sidestepped so he could see the alts. His breath caught in his throat. "Oh." There was a much longer pause as he continued to punch and throw his shield. "Yeah, gimme two hours. Can you bring them to the tower or something because I _definitely_ need to change before we discuss anything?" Toni sighed and then nodded.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Steve?" She asked. He sighed.

"No but-" _kapow _"-Bruce'll be there and Pietro was wondering if he could stop by, says he-" _krunch_ "-left his jacket when we had that last big get-together." Toni ran a hand through her hair and chewed her lip.

"Alright, fine. But I think Hill should take Fury and... Other Hill... to the barbershop HQ, I don't want those two in my house. You better grab some pizza then, and that cake from Ithica's, I'm hungry." Steve nodded.

"We'll be back in a bit," he finished and the call ended. Toni sighed and left the room. Hill gave her a look which she rebuffed and glared at the group of alts.

"I'll take all but Nick and other you to the Stark Mansion. If I had it my way I wouldn't be bringing him either, but if he's truly my doppelganger then I can handle him." The director nodded and flicked her head at Hill and Fury, turning to leave.

"The rest of you can come with me. And let's get one thing straight right now; my house is sacred ground. If you put one toe out of line I will fucking end you," she snapped.

/\\\

Toni unlocked the door to the mansion and walked in, kicking off her heels and nudging them off to the side. The Avengers filed in behind her. As she slipped off her coat she could a light on down the hall. She sighed.

"Peter!" She called.

"Is that your husband?" Other Pepper asked. Toni snorted.

"No. Peter? Is that you?"

"Yeah!" A voice called back. Then a teen rounded the archway from the hall.

"I take it your dad's not home yet?" The kid laughed and shook his head, then gestured to the alts behind her.

"Royal screw-up or Skrulls?" Toni smirked.

"What'dyou think?" He flashed her a smile. Toni glanced behind herself and gave the perplexed group a grin. "Come on, the kitchen's this way. The others'll be here soon, and they're bringing pizza."

"Why would you get married? You're Toni Stark for Chrissake! And a kid? Are you sure we share DNA?" Other Pepper gave him a look, Toni merely raised an eyebrow.

"Ma'am," the Other Steve piped up with. She wanted to laugh; _ma'am_.

"Still timid aren't you. You'll get over that eventually. You were gonna ask who my husband is, weren't you?" Steve nodded.

"Yes ma'am," he replied. Toni gave Peter a grin, which he returned.

"Well you'll meet him soon enough. And Pietro, bet you guys haven't met him yet if you haven't nerved up yet," she muttered and led the group down a short hall to a kitchen. Both Other Clint and Other Tony were taken aback by the domesticated scale of the kitchen, complete with a picture coated fridge.

"Where's your sister, Peter?" Toni asked. Peter shrugged and took a seat at the bar.

"I think she and Francis were hanging out." Toni was about to sigh when the door opened loudly and the sound of people entering stopped her.

"Toni!" A voice called. "You home yet?"

"Yeah! You get pizza?" The lights to the hall flicked on and Steve, Bruce and the silver-haired Pietro rounded the corner into the kitchen. Bruce was holding several pizza boxes and Steve was holding a small to-go box. All the alts cocked their heads to the side. Finally Other Clint muttered, "I'm actually not surprised." Toni glanced at him, but she was drawn away by Steve wrapping an arm around her waist, pecking a kiss on her cheek and then walking over to the counter. The alts' jaws began to drop.

"We got a cheese, two pepperonis and a meat-lover's. Maximoff, you staying for dinner?" Steve asked. Pietro shrugged.

"If Toni'll let me," he replied. Toni flashed him a half endearing, half 'try me' look. She flipped the pizza boxes open and took in the alts' faces, smirking.

"You owe Peter ten bucks, Steve, you never ended that bet from the second Alt visit." Steve turned around and leaned back against the counter. Peter grinned.

"Oh yeah! Have you ever even won that?"

"Yes, I won that one time! Remember, that one universe where your mother was a guy again but he was dating Peter Quill?"

"Oh dad, no! Don't bring that up please!" A girl moaned, entering the kitchen.

"How's Francis?" Toni muttered, glancing at the girl from the corner of her eye.

"HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE!" Tony shouted. Toni turned to face him with an eyebrow raised. "You are married to Steve Rogers? And you have kids? What the actual fuck is happening?" Bruce and Pietro stared at the origin of the outburst from across the table. Toni's Steve just watched from his spot leaning against the counter with knowing look, a faint smirk playing with his lips.

"You are definitely the least coordinated Tony Stark I've met. Most of them have their shit together. I mean, a fair amount are confused by Steve and I, but damn you are the crowning jewel. If Earth-798802 Tony was cool with it, why can't the others be?" She snapped. Steve laughed and crossed back over to her.

"Yeah well, Earth-798802 Tony was having an extra-marital affair with 798802 Steve so that's not the best example hun." Toni gave him a look.

"So I take it that these are the fuck ups that Francis heard about from his dad," the girl said. Steve smiled at her.

"Language, Angela," Toni grumbled. She reached over and grabbed a slice of meat-lover's, taking a bite with an eyebrow still raised at alt Tony. A moment passed and then she looked up at Steve. "I'd completely forgotten that he'd been cheating on Maria."

"Wait, was that the universe where my alt and my sister's alt were...?"

"Banging? No, that was... huh, I'm totally forgetting. No that other universe was the one where you, Namor, Sue Storm and the Inhuman girl Crystal were in a polyamorous marriage... or was that the following universe?"

"That was the universe that you all disappeared into for like a week," Angela grumbled.

"That's right, and Bruce- your alt was actually in Betty's situation and she was in yours." Bruce smirked.

"So what universe is this ma'am?" Alt Steve asked.

"Earth-3490, we've been working with Earth-616 and Earth-1610 to amass a catalogue of all the alternate realities," she replied.

"So do we know what ours is and when we can return?" He urged. She sighed.

"No and whenever Reed can send you back, it's a matter of what the fabric between our realities can take and if his machine can handle the load." Peter stood, stretching and pushing in his chair.

"I'm going to bed mom, I'll see you all in the morning, and it was nice to meet you, weird, confused alternates." 3490 Bruce smirked as the boy left the room. Angela grumbled something and walked over to her parents.

"It's like ten. He's such a weenie," she murmured. Toni bit back a grin.

"Oh stop, he's your brother and you also have school tomorrow, going to bed soon is probably a good idea missy." She gave Toni a look and hissed quietly, turning back to the alt Clint.

"So in your universe, have you and Aunt Tasha gotten together yet? 'Cause, like, you and her are literally the cutest," she questioned. Clint looked confused and then blushed.

"No... Natasha and I aren't-"

"We don't know what you're talking about," Natasha interrupted, deadpanning. Toni and Steve cracked a grin and fought down a snicker.

"So then you don't have a son?" Clint blushed even brighter.

"What?"

"Angie, they've had enough confusion. Go get ready for bed please," Steve instructed. Angela sighed and trudged out of the room. There was a long pause.

"How old are they?" Alt Jane asked, breaking the quiet conversation between Toni, Bruce and Pietro.

"Peter's a junior now and Angela's about to graduate." Jane smiled.

"I couldn't even come close to imagining Tony with kids, it's really actually cool that you and Steve have a family in the chaos that is being a hero." Then Clint asked, "Is Angela adopted? She looks-"

"Latina, yeah. Her uncle was a distant friend and when he was killed we adopted her. Obviously she knows it and we've told her about her lineage but... I get defensive about that."

"Toni means that she _is_ our daughter," Steve finished. Toni nodded and checked her watch.

"Look, you're probably all tired but we do need to get some blood samples so Bruce and Reed can look into your universe." They all nodded and Toni eased away from the group.

"I got the cake by the way," Steve murmured. Toni smiled and stood up on her tip-toes to give him a kiss.

"I love you," she whispered back.

"Good, because I love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So yes, I am screwing with the family trees that Marvel has preordained but tbh it's an Alternate Universe that Marvel hasn't expanded on sooooo yeah. Also Marvel fucks with their own preordained shit <strong>**_tout le temps_****! (All the time)**


	3. Can'tsleepitis and Angela Stark-Rogers

Tony found himself unusually restless, especially since he was asleep in the Stark Mansion after a rather taxing battle. From what he remembered of the mansion, the beds had always been intensely comfortable, but at that moment he'd never been more uncomfortable. He'd woken up at least twice so far, thoughts running through his head so as to keep him up. Sighing, he rolled over onto his back again. There was a rustle of covers and then Pepper was glaring at him.

"I haven't slept in twenty-six and a half hours Anthony Stark, you are driving me up the wall," she growled. He gave her an apologetic look.

"I can't sleep," he replied. She sighed and patted his cheek.

"Then take a walk, but- please- let me sleep." He bit his lip and then climbed out of the bed.

The lab, if he remembered correctly, was three halls, two rights, a left and one stairwell away. Unfortunately, judging by the way 3490 Steve had said goodnight, going to the lab would probably mean risking his wellbeing. Instead, he walked back down to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. He took a seat at the bar and stared at the pictures on the fridge. _So domestic_, he thought. There was a quiet thump and then normal Steve walked in.

"I tripped," he muttered. Tony nodded. "Can't sleep either?" Steve asked. Tony shook his head.

"Not when my double is upstairs probably screwing yours," he huffed. Steve gave him a look and then sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Please don't even make me think about that, Tony," Steve replied. There was a long pause as both heroes tried to wrap their mind around their situation. Steve pulled his head off the table as if to say something, then thought better of it and returned his head to the surface. Tony closed his eyes and let the reality around him process. A sound alerted the two. Both of their heads shot off their respective countertops. Peter stood in the entryway.

"Can't sleep?" He asked. They both nodded. "Yeah, that's typical with the alt Steves and Tonys. I don't know why you all find it so hard to process but you guys do," he muttered, crossing over to the fridge.

"What are you doing up, Peter?" Steve asked the boy. Peter glanced back at him and then checked his wristwatch, smirking.

"It's five thirty a.m., we school nerds must rise at this time. Sometime in the near future Angie and my parents will awaken so be on your guard," Peter joked. Tony and Steve exchanged looks and both sighed. Peter opened the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice. "Look, I know it's weird but honestly, if you get to know them, my parents are completely different people than you two are. We lead different lives than you guys and-" he took a gulp of the juice and then another, "-we have completely different personalities. I mean, just look at you guys. One look tells me you're all dysfunctional, disorganized and clearly haven't seen enough combat. My parents work together like a well-oiled machine, the new Avengers are like gears in motion and every single one of them understands each other." The lights in the hall flicked on, signaling the Stark-Rogers family awakening. "Stop worrying about them and worry about yourselves."

Toni walked in the room, her hair was thrown into a messy bun and it appeared as if she'd carelessly tossed on some ratty jeans and a tank top. She watched the two Avengers like a mother lioness would watch her enemies.

"Good morning Peter," she hummed, keeping her gaze fixed on Steve and Tony.

"Morning mom," he answered. 3490 Steve suddenly rounded the corner, almost running into Toni. Instead, he slid to a stop and slipped his arm around her waist. His hair was bedraggled and his eyes were slightly glazed, clearly he was not fully awake. He looked around the room, taking in the occupants and then huffing.

"Good morning everyone," he said, attempting to muster a tone even remotely close to cheery- and failing.

"Dad, did you buy cereal yesterday? Tell me you bought cereal," Peter cried from the far counter. 3490 Steve took a moment to process the question. Tony watched the Stark-Rogers morning routine with rapt attention.

"Honestly, Peter, I don't know. Check the cabinets above the fridge maybe but if it's not there then I probably didn't buy any," 3490 Steve answered. Toni leaned into her husband's grip.

"So, Tony, I take it you don't have any kids," she said, redirecting her attention. Tony sneered at his female counterpart, but almost immediately tried to take it back.

"No," he grumbled. "Thank God." She raised an eyebrow at him and squeezed 3490 Steve's hand.

"Well with that, I'm going to go get Angela up. Do me a favor and take these two to the library. I'll be there in five," Toni murmured, smiling slightly. Her Steve nodded and let her leave.

/\\\

Angela heard the knock on her door clearly, but that small part of her brain that truly believed that she could deny the time, wanted to curl back up in her covers.

"Come on Ange, get up please," her mother called through the door. She didn't reply. "I opening the door." Slowly, her bedroom door creaked open and her mother walked in. Angela pushed herself forward and ran her hands into her hair. "Hey, you okay?" She looked up at her mother.

"Yeah... I just... I dunno," she replied. Toni pursed her lips.

"Is training bugging you?" Toni asked, sitting down at Angela's desk. She shrugged.

"I dunno. Daredevil's a great teacher and all and I'm really glad that you trust me enough to let me train but... well I guess I do know. I hate lying to dad for one, and I guess two is that you guys are my family, I don't need to know my other family even if means I can't access my powers." She lowered her head into her hands and sighed. Toni sighed as well and rubbed a hand up and down her daughter's back.

"Ange, I raised you, I'm the one with the baby pictures and awful toddler stories. Your dad and I will always be your parents, Peter and James with always be your brothers. If you don't want to keep training you don't have to but if it's what you want and it means learning about your background, we'll always support you hun." Angela gave her mom a quick hug and fell back onto her bed. "Still doesn't mean you're getting out of going to school. Come on, get up kiddo."

With a little effort, Ange pulled herself out of bed and got dressed; white skinny jeans, black tank top and that super comfortable white and black bomber jacket she'd found the other day. She dragged herself downstairs to where Peter, Toni and the alt Jane were. All three had very large cups of coffee in hand and were chatting lightly.

"Morning knucklehead," Angela muttered as she passed Peter, ruffling his hair.

"Bon matin ma soeur, tu as bien dormi?" He replied. The two snickered.

"Ouais, tout ce que." Toni smiled from the bar. From the corner of her eyes, Angela could practically see the motherly pride that naturally radiated of Toni whenever her kids got along. It was the kind of pride that, given everything with their lives, she'd always have gotten her kids' relationship right. "Gimme a sip of that little bro," Angela hummed, swiping his coffee. Her phone buzzed, signaling a text. Attempting to limit the attention from her mother, she pulled out her phone and turned her back to Toni and Peter.

"Is it Fraaaaaancisssss? Are you two making lovey eyes at each other?" Peter teased, grabbing his coffee back.

"Shut up, Pete! It's not like any of us haven't notice you stalking that Gwen Stacey girl," Angela hissed. He gave her a look. "Gotta go, have a good day mom, say bye to dad for me!" Ange called, grabbing her bag and exiting the room.

"We'll see you after school! Straight home!" Toni shouted after her. Peter gave his mother a smirk.

"Please mom, she's ignoring you now that Francis is at the forefront of her mind." Toni smiled at her son knowingly.

Angela swung the door shut behind her and took the stairs leading out of the house two at a time. In the driveway, Francis's dark purple and black Aventador purred in quiet waiting. She opened the passenger side door, tossed her bag in, and climbed into the car.

"Every time," she huffed. The boy gave her a look. "Every time I see your car I want to beg my parents for a Lamborghini."

"Doesn't your mom have one?" Angela shrugged.

"Probably." Francis smiled his devil-elf smile. It was a characteristic he'd received from his father. There was a lot of things that the Barton boy had received from his father, and a lot of things he'd received from his mother... and a lot of things he'd received from "Aunt" Toni... and a lot of things he'd received from Wolverine- the kid spent _way_ too much time with him. The amount of influences he had was endless.

"So, you told your dad about your training yet?" He asked, his white-blonde hair catching the light.

"No, mom thinks that it's best to hold off until I graduate... or Matt lets it slip. He's like a fucking newspaper when you get a couple beers in him, I swear." Francis laughed. "And you? Have you asked your dad if you can start training?" He shook his head.

"No. That won't happen for a while. Though, I'm sure Nat would teach me in a heartbeat," he replied.

"Don't want to end the only good relationship your dad's had though," Angela teased.

"Yeah, probably not a good idea." Ange eased the seat back low so she could close her eyes for just a moment more. Then they were at their school, pulling into the senior lot and she let the chair return to upright position. "Come on, Madame Eon waits," he said, grabbing his bag and getting out of the car. She followed suit. She raced around the car and caught up with him, letting him slide his hand around her waist.

"Francis!" Someone called. The two looked over to find Francis's sister, Kate, running towards them. "Francis! Mom wanted me to tell you something really important!" She cried.

"What?" He asked when she reached them.

"Well, first off you need to come home. Second off, you are in such deep shit. Come on, we need to get home."


	4. An Emergency Phone Call

**AN: Hello again, so this one's slightly longer than the others and ****_significantly_**** more confusing. Bear with me, chapter 4 explains it ALL. I will be getting that up just as soon as it is edited, which should be tomorrow. PLEASE R&R it means the world to me!**

Chapter 3- An Emergency Phone Call

Toni flicked the kitchen lights off and walked quietly down the halls. She trailed her fingers along the wall of the halls on the way to the library, staring ahead all the while. A thought that always struck her was how wide the halls in the house actually were; almost as if her father had anticipated that a Hulk might need to fit through them. Above her she could hear the floors creaking, signifying that the alt Avengers were waking up. Making for the library, she took the stairs leading to the second floor two at a time.

Given how dark the whole house was at six fifteen on a winter Wednesday morning, she practically jumped when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Recovering herself, she pulled it out and answered, not bothering to glance at the caller id.

"Mom?" A voice huffed. _James_.

"James? Hun?" Toni replied, worried. She stopped and leaned back against the wall. "James, what's wrong?"

"I'm... I've... shit..." the other line growled. "I found Uncle James, but... fuck, come on!" Toni's heart started racing as she pushed herself forward and stumbled blindly for the library.

"James, are you okay? Are you alright?" She demanded.

"Yeah, no... I'm... it's just an arrow, I'm fine, I swear. It's Uncle James, he's... I'm dragging the guy around, he's unconscious," he answered. Toni nodded then, upon realizing that he couldn't see that, muttered an "ok".

She took a right turn and was met with the warm glow of a crackling fire and the floor lamps of the library. 199999 Steve and Tony, and her Steve were chatting quietly over by the fireplace.

"Steve!" She cried. Both Steves turned to look at her but only her Steve's face fell upon seeing her mouthing the name "James". He rushed over and took the phone from her.

"James? Are you-"

"He needs reinforcements, Steve," Toni snapped.

"Dad, we're at Mount Charteris in-" the line went dead and he lowered the phone.

"Is he alright?" Steve demanded. Toni nodded gravely.

"Yeah but he says Buck's unconscious and he's got an arrow wound," she relayed. 3490 Steve ran both his hands into his hair and clenched them into fists. "I'm calling Natasha, we're going to go get him," she snapped. Steve turned back to face her and dropped his hands to his sides.

"No! Absolutely not Toni! I'll go get him but you-"

"Don't fucking try me Steve, not right now. You need to stay with the alts, I'll get Clint and Nat, trust me. I'll be fine," she interjected, calming at the end. Steve sighed and nodded.

"Alright... alright, I trust you, they're at Mount Charteris. Get them home, I'll be here," he replied. Toni nodded and pecked him on the cheek.

"We'll be home soon." Steve sighed as she left the library in a hurry.

She raced down the hall for the lab, which she rushed into and grabbed her earpiece.

"Call Natasha," she ordered. The A.I. glowed to life in the room and answered with a distant "yes".

"Hello?" The voice of Natasha answered.

"Suit up, James and Bucky got themselves into some shit at Mount Charteris," Toni relayed. Nat cursed.

"Why would James go there?"

"Bucky was on a mission, he called Bruce last night and said he was on his way home. Apparently Viper got him and James somehow caught wind of it all. What matters is the fact that you need to get in a Quinjet and meet me there as soon as possible, I'm suiting up now." Toni replied, grabbing her flight suit from the chair by her desk. She fumbled with her belt buckle and started shimmying out of her jeans.

"Alright, just give me a minute to get the kids home. Do you want Angela and Peter home?" Natasha muttered.

"I'll call Peter; can you have Kate tell Angela? That's smart though, this does smell fishy."

"Alright, we'll see you in a bit." The call ended as Toni began weaving her way through the maze of toolboxes, workbenches and the shitty helper bots she'd created a while back.

"Call Peter."

"Yes miss," JARVIS replied. For a moment she feared that Peter wouldn't answer and but on the forth ring Peter answered.

"Peter, can you do me a favor? Can you come home, no questions asked? Your brother just needs some help so we're going to go get him. Your dad's home and I'd prefer it if you were too," Toni huffed, extending her arm in front of the latest suit model. The left gauntlet flung to her arm like a magnet.

"Yeah, but is there someone coming?" Toni sighed extending her other arm and letting the right gauntlet rocket forward and flip around to fit on her hand.

"I don't know Peter, I just want to be safe. Your sister's with Francis I think so just get home as soon as possible please."

"Alright, I'm putting my helmet back on now, I'll be home in bit," he replied. As the chest plate launched forward and tightened, she took a breath, pausing the other pieces of armor.

"Thank you Peter."

"Are you alright mom? You sound... stressed," he murmured.

"I'm fine kiddo. The lab's open to you when you return, see if you can make some headway on the reactor design for the car. I gotta go, but I'll see you when I get back."

"Alright, see you later mom." The call ended and the tunnel on the far left wall that led from the house slid open. The rest of the armor launched to her body and tightened around her. She took a moment to breath and then charged the thrusters, flying from the room.

/\\\

"Come _on_ Uncle Bucky!" James groaned as he lugged the super soldier forward. A crack resounded overhead that made James drop his uncle's arm, letting him fall to the ground with a thud. "Oh shit," he murmured. Desperately, he scanned the area around him and then grabbed the gun on Bucky's hip. He popped his head up over the small ditch and adjusted to the scene before him.

Viper was ten feet away with a squad of men behind her. In her hand was a whip and a very lethal looking gun was slung on her back.

"Come to play little kitty?" She taunted. James sneered and aimed at her. In the blink of an eye, she flicked her wrist and the whip coiled around the barrel of the glock.

"I thought we already beat you? Didn't Ironman send you straight down to hell where you belong?" He snapped back. She cackled.

"Yes little kitten, and your mamochka shot me four times in the head but I'm still here! It's awe-inspiring what you can do with some tech and a few scientists, just ask your Uncle." James sneered and popped back down into the ditch.

It wasn't so much a ditch as a step to a cliff. A _big_ cliff. He grabbed Buck's other gun and shot blindly behind him thrice, hearing a satisfying yelp. Grabbing Bucky once more and taking a second to breath, he swallowed and rolled off the cliff. As soon as there were off, he fumbled to grab the grappling gun he nabbed on the way out. When he opened his eyes, the hook had found a home in the side of the cliff, Viper was staring down at him and he was realizing that the snap in the line would hurt... a lot. Sure enough, the rope snapped and all of Bucky's super soldier weight became apparent. James screamed loudly. About a hundred feet above, he could hear Viper laughing.

"Son of fucking _bitch_," he groaned. His mind began rushing to find a plan right when a red and gold metal figure swooped in above the two. James breathed a sigh of relief. "_Mom_," he muttered. She shot two warning blasts at Viper and her crew. In an instant Toni had James and Bucky in her grip and she was flying for the Quinjet.

"Goddamn James, when did you bulk up?" She groaned. They flew straight fr the plane and slowed to a manageable speed, flinging James and Bucky in and then lowering herself in. The suit fell off around her as the back closed.

"They okay?" Natasha called back. Toni nodded and slumped down into one of the seats as James was picking himself up. Natasha unbuckled herself, brushing her hand over Clint's shoulder as she rushed to James.

"James, are you okay?" She demanded. Off to the side, Toni scooted over to Bucky and checked on him.

"I'm fine mamochka, I'm fine," he murmured. She nodded and did a once over of his face.

"You're absolutely sure ryba?" He nodded and ran a hand through his grimy red hair. She wrapped her arms around him.

"What in God's name made you think it was okay to do this?" She growled. He shook his head.

"I was nearby mamochka. Uncle Bucky called and then the line went dead so I tracked the call and he was here. It's nothing, really," he answered, pushing himself from her arms and gripping his side. Then Toni was there with a first-aid kit, pulling out a roll of bandages.

"Move your hand, James," she huffed. He did as he was told and let her assess the damage. "You took a damn arrow to the side, James, you're not fine." He shot Toni a look.

"She's right, James. We've all talked to you about this before; Steve, Toni, Clint and I don't want you in our line of work," Natasha reaffirmed. Clint leaned into the back cabin.

"It's a shitty line of work and you usually die young," he called back. Toni pulled at his shirt and then dabbed alcohol into the wound. He flinched away from her.

"Jesus Christ, mom!" He shouted. She furrowed her brow.

"Oh shut up, James. If you're gonna go out and get the wounds, don't complain when I try to fix them," she snapped. She dabbed a little more at the wound, making him wince, and then put a bandage pad onto it, taping there with some medical tape. Natasha gave him a look and returned to the copilot seat. James sighed and turned to Toni.

"Can I stay with you guys tonight? I have a feeling that I really aggravated those two," he muttered. Toni gave him a split-second smirk.

"Only if you realize that your father's going to be just as pissed as she is," she replied.

"Yeah, I know." He fell back with a slight clag and closed his eyes.

Toni crawled back over to Bucky, who was apparently waking up. His eyes opened weakly and he looked around. Toni was hovering above him was a light smirk.

"Hey there Sleep Beauty," she purred. He brought a hand to his forehead.

"Toni?" He grumbled.

"And Natasha and Clint. How you feel?" He pushed himself forward.

"Like shit..." There was a long pause as he took in his surroundings. "Can we grab some Chick-fil-A, I'm starving," he finished. Toni smirked.

"I'll ask the driver."

/\\\

After grabbing food for Bucky and the fuel fiasco- because the Quinjet had _not_ been refilled after the last mission- it was nearing one a.m. when Toni, Bucky and James got back to the mansion. She stepped in and let her armor fall off around her.

Naturally, upon entering as quietly as possible, they found Steve- very much awake- in the entryway sitting room. Toni flicked her wrist at the pile of metal and sent it flying out the open door to the garage. She sighed and made for Steve, falling into his arms upon reaching him. He slid his hands across her back and pulled her closer.

"Did the kids get home all right?" Steve nodded.

"And all the alts are asleep," he replied. She breathed him in and then hesitantly pulled himself from his embrace.

"James and Bucky are spending the night," she murmured. Steve looked up to see a weary Bucky Barnes and James Rogers. He knit his brow and let his hand slip from Toni's.

"What were you thinking?" Steve demanded. Toni sighed and made for the couch.

"I told you, James," she muttered.

"I was thinking that I was doing what you would've done!" James snapped back. Bucky groaned and joined Toni on the couch.

"'What I would've done' is going to get you killed James! Your mother and I have talked to you about this bef-"

"Yeah! I know! She gave me this same exact lecture on the plane, dad! Look I did what I did because Uncle Bucky needed my help. He'd called just to check in, to tell me that he was in the vicinity of where I was road tripping and he wanted to see me, that's when the phone cut out. Look, I did it because I was the closest person and he needed-"

"He's a goddamn superhero, James; you're not! There's reasons we have Avengers _everywhere_. You are a college student, not a hero!" Steve shouted. Toni closed her eyes and kicked her feet up on the coffee table.

"_I'm not a hero_?! Listen to yourself dad! You're the most hypocritical person ever! You weren't a hero till you took some magic drugs and suddenly you're righteous! You let Toni and mat' go out and risk their lives, why am I any different? I even have training! Mamochka taught me self-defense and you know that, I can hold my own!" Steve took a breath and rubbed his temples.

"Do you think I _let_ them go out there? Every time that Toni's left this house I practically beg her if I can go in her place! If I had any say in any of this, we'd just be a normal family doing normal things! Instead we're a family where you constantly beg to get killed and then I look like the ultimate asshole hypocrite when I say no. James, the only reason I'm even vaguely okay with your mother and Toni risking their lives is because they know how to do that and come back alive." James threw his hands to his side, huffing.

"Toni didn't even know how to fight before she took on Obadiah!" Steve glared at his son.

"Do you see what she wears, James?! She wears almost an inch of steel-iron alloy powered by a damned nuclear reactor in her chest. That nuclear reactor keeps three pieces of shrapnel from cutting into her heart. Even if she wasn't out in her suit, she's still got three razor sharp bits of metal threatening her life! Nothing about us is normal, nothing about our lives is okay with me but we're stuck with them. If I can just keep my family alive then _maybe_ I can sleep at night. I can't sleep at night when you're out having _Viper_ shoot at you! Now I suggest you either go to bed or go to your mother and Clint's house. And Bucky, I swear to God, if you contradict me I will throw you across this room," Steve finished. Bucky closed his mouth and eased back into the couch as James huffed, shot his father a look, and trudged off for bed.

Toni stood and caught his arm in the hall. He turned and looked at her.

"I'm not up for another lecture or a story, mom," James sighed. She smiled and shook her head.

"No, James, I just wanted to tell you that I _am_ proud of what you did, I'd just prefer it if you maybe had some real training and help next time." He flashed her a weak smile. "Will you be here in the morning? I'm sure Peter and Angela would love to see you," she murmured. He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be here." And with that he turned and headed for his old room.

Steve swung around the corner tiredly and leaned against the wall, letting Bucky pass them.

"Please spare me chastising for that, I've been wound up all night," he muttered. She smiled and slid an arm around his waist.

"Oh please, Steve, you know me better than that. I think the boy needed to hear that. _And_ I told him you'd be pissed when we got home," she answered. He leaned down and kissed her. "I'm gonna go put this in the lab, I'll be up in a minute okay," she murmured. He nodded and let her back away.

/\\\

Toni punched the code into the alarm box and entered the lab. It was dark save for a small work light on the far workbench. Draped over the table was a sleeping Peter, a small dieselpunk wind-up toy in front of him. She walked over and ruffled his hair.

"Wake up, puny," she cooed. Slowly his eyes cracked open and adjusted to the light.

"Mom?" He grumbled.

"Yeah. How long you been down here, kiddo?" She murmured. He shrugged.

"Since I got back, I didn't make any headway on the engine," he muttered.

She looked around at the large, messy lab. Four work benches covered in prototype armor, an engine reactor for a car, several new helper bots and various scraps of metal cluttered the left corner of the room. By the tunnel was a line-up of six cars- including a Lamborghini- and two motorcycles. On the opposite wall was a desk, a mini bar and a wall display of tools. Across from Toni and Peter was the Ironman suit display, seven suits standing proud- including the first design which was still in shambles from her encounter with Obadiah.

"Come on, puny, it's time for bed," she yawned, ruffling his hair again.

"Can I stay home from school tomorrow? I wanna keep working on the reactor," he replied. She smirked a little and then nodded.

"Yeah, fine, but you and Angela have to show the Alts around for a while so I can get some work done with James." Peter nodded and groggily grabbed his coat and backpack.

"I'll see you in the morning mom," he muttered on his way out. Toni watched him go and then walked over to the desk. It was a mess, a cluttered stack of papers- clean and coffee stained- covered the right lower side of the surface and three big screens took up the rest of the upper space. She touched the middle screen, waking it up, and opened the file labeled "Suit Designs". Extra large icons depicting computer generated designs for suits- though not the Ironman suits. She opened one clearly made for a tall male. As she examined it, she unzipped and pulled off the flightsuit, leaving her standing in a tanktop and underwear. She enlarged it and at the lower abdomen and spun it to a side view.

"JARVIS, record."

"Recording, miss."

"Add pliable carbon fiber plating to the Latissimus Dorsi and Serratus Anterior regions, add breathability to the neck and Rectus Abdominus regions. End of recording."

"Very good, miss." Toni closed the file and shut down the computer, draping her suit over the chair.

She popped her head out the door and pulled her tanktop down a little, then started tiptoeing for her room. Quietly, she hurried down the hall, up the left wing stairs, and down the right hall. When she reached her room, she opened her door, shut it just as quickly and leaned back against it. Steve opened one eye, taking a deep breath from where he laid on the bed. She flashed him a smile and laughed a little.

"I didn't want to put my pants back on, too much effort just to take them off when I got here," she chuckled. Steve smiled, watching her walk over to the dresser. She slid open the top drawer and grabbed one of Steve's overly large sweatshirts, pulling off her tanktop. She went to pull the sweatshirt on when he fake-coughed. She turned to look at him, arms half in the sweatshirt.

"I wouldn't put that on," he hummed. Toni raised an eyebrow and slid her arms out of it, holding the shirt over her chest.

"Yeah? Why not?"

"Because it'd just be off you as soon as you got over here, and that would be a waste of clean clothes." She smirked and draped it back on the dresser.

Hopping onto the bed, she looked at him with a serious expression.

"You know what I've learned with these Alts?" She said, swinging a leg over his waist. He gave her a "tell me" look. "You are so much sexier now than you were in your timid phase, though I will say it was quite fun to break you of that." He scoffed.

"Break me? Please, I grew out of it!" He laughed. Toni rolled her eyes.

"Steve, had I not come around, you would have stayed the bumbling choirboy that that alt Steve is. Yeah, I broke you of that."


	5. Morning Stories

**AN: I guess it got edited faster than I thought, ta-da!**

Chapter 4- Morning Stories

Steve, who was awake before his alternate universe compatriots as usual, rounded into the kitchen from the right hallway. Though, Tony's female counterpart and his own duplicate were awake and laughing with steaming cups of coffee in hand. He stopped at the entryway with an awkward, intruding feeling. Toni looked over from her laugh-filled whisperings with the other Steve.

"Morning," the 3490 Steve greeted, smiling.

"Morning... sorry if I was... interrupting something," he muttered. Toni cracked a grin, the grin she'd grinned before at his timidity, the grin that made him feel like she would eat him alive.

"No, you weren't interrupting anything. Do you want some coffee?" Other Steve asked. Alt Steve nodded in his polite manner. "It's in the pot over by the stove."

"Sleep well?" Toni asked curtly. Steve turned from pouring himself a cup and nodded.

"Yes ma'am, and yourself?" He replied. Toni snickered which made Steve fear what for.

"Very well, thank you." She took a sip of her coffee as her Steve walked over to get more for himself and alt Steve crossed to the kitchen table. "How old are you Steve?" She asked. He looked slightly confused at the question.

"Almost twenty-nine, ma'am. Why?" He replied.

"So you've found Bucky then?" She continued. He nodded, taking a chug of coffee. She sighed and checked her wrist watch right as Jane and Thor entered.

"Ah, good morn friend Rogers, friend Other Rogers and friend Woman Tony!" He bellowed. Toni raised her mug to him and Other Steve smiled as he returned to his wife's side. "We missed you on the day of yester, though Other Rogers here said you had important business to attend to." Toni nodded.

"Speaking of that important business, I should go wake them up. Steve, care to make breakfast?" Her husband shrugged. She turned to Steve and the others. "Waffles, pancakes or crepes? I will say that Steve makes great crepes. He insisted that we buy him a crepe griddle when we were in Paris a while ago." Jane smiled.

"Crepes it is then, Steve you should go wake the others." Steve nodded and stood as Toni did.

The two walked out together, Toni mumbling something to herself and Steve glancing at her awkwardly. When they reached the grand staircase Toni stopped, making Steve stop as well.

"Okay Rogers, what is it?" He hesitated for a moment, debating whether he should play the pronoun game and ask what she meant by "what". Instead he sighed and leaned back against the railing.

"I just... I was curious about you and... the other me. You're obviously a version of Tony- maybe a Tony twenty years from now... but still Tony. How did you end up with my doppelganger? With kids no less?" He asked. Toni sighed and leaned back against the railing as well.

"It's a bit of a long story, but I think you know the basics of it. It was the little things... the times where he'd turn off the com to just me and him during battle and ask if I was okay. The little glances or smiles. You must know that from Peggy." Steve looked like someone had punched him in the gut but he recovered quickly. "I don't kid myself, my Steve loved this universe's Peggy just as you loved yours. But I do know that we love each other, that you can love more than once in a lifetime." Steve nodded, urging her to continue. Toni gave him a look. "Oh... you want the whole story don't you." She sighed again and crossed her arms. "JARVIS, get Angela and Peter up, and the Alts while you're at it."

"Yes miss, right away," the A.I. answered.

"Steve was still in his timid phase, very much like you are now. Our timeline's are all a little screwy; he woke up in two thousand and Loki and his army attacked three months later. Steve and Natasha ran a mission just after that, before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. She was used to being able to blow off steam like she did with Clint. That was the mission that led to Natasha's pregnancy. When Steve returned we... I don't know what you'd call it... flirted maybe? I don't know. He and I got involved about a month after that. When Natasha told him, she was six months pregnant and he and I had been together for five months.

"James was maybe... a year and half when Steve proposed. For a long time James lived solely with Natasha and then when he turned one she finally let him stay with us. It started as just when she was on missions and then it continued getting bigger. He grew up with two mothers really... apparently I became mommy and Natasha was maman. And when he turned five I got pregnant with Peter.

"Steve and I spent weeks arguing about it; I didn't think I could raise a kid full time. Back then, I could barely manage James. So Steve and I would get into these monstrous fights that could last three or four days. One night, when James was staying here, he started calling for me. It was back when he was having bad dreams, so I had to go read him a story. I sat down and read him one, and then another and then he asked for one about Steve so I told him about him- you too I guess- getting the serum. Then, of course, I had to tell him about me creating the suit. Obviously it was all dumbed down and PG-ified. That was when I decided I'd keep Peter.

"I believe I was eight months pregnant with Peter when we got a call telling us that some friends had been killed, leaving their year old niece guardian-less. We were originally just going to foster her until we could find her a better family but... well I had Peter and James turned six we'd fallen in love with her. Steve and I have been married for... God I think twenty-one years now, with Peter and Angela and James." Just as she finished, Peter came barreling down the stairs, racing past her.

"Morning mom, other Steve. I'll be in the lab, bring me food?" He called.

"No! Peter, we're having a civilized breakfast, your brother's here!" Peter slid to stop and turned to face her.

"So have him bring me breakfast," he replied. Toni gave him a fake laugh.

"Nice try, if you don't join us for breakfast then I'll be sending you back to school for the day." She replied. Peter gave her a look and then sighed.

"Alright, fine." He trudged off for the kitchen. Follow his disappearance, the sound of feet echoed and Angela came down.

"Morning mom," she greeted.

"Morning kid. Your dad's making crepes, go sit next to Peter so he doesn't ditch for the lab," Toni replied. Steve watched with rapt attention.

"So if this James boy of yours is twenty-three, then... your husband... must be around forty-eight." She nodded and ran a hand through her hair.

"Forty-six. As with me." Steve gave her a look, recalling that in his world Tony was around thirty-four. She caught the expression. "Like I said, timelines are screwy. There's a universe where I am in my late seventies, but it's about two thousand fifteen there." With another creak, voices could be heard and suddenly a red-haired boy and a much older Bucky rounded the corner. Steve's breath caught in his throat and he was suddenly unable to breath. Bucky. Bucky. Bucky. How was his Bucky? _Where_ was his Bucky? Was he eating? Steve felt like he was drowning.

"Good sunrise, Lady Stark," Bucky muttered as he passed her. The redhead fell back to kiss Toni on the cheek.

"Morning mom." She smiled at him.

"Good morning James. Hey kiddo, do me a favor and don't reignite last night, I would like a no-shouting breakfast." The kid nodded and followed Bucky down the hall. Toni looked over at Steve. "You alive over there?" She asked. He looked up.

"I... he didn't even acknowledge me..." he murmured. Toni laughed loudly.

"I've told you all before, you aren't the first alternates to come here. Look Rogers, the second alts to cross over hadn't even found Bucky yet. Imagine the surprise when they met him. We had to come up with a whole cover story to pretend that Bucky was never in the hands of HYDRA so we didn't fuck up their timeline. He's learned to ignore you all." With that, Toni turned and followed her son and Bucky.

"You can continue waiting for your friends or join us in the kitchen, whatever floats your boat," Toni called back to him.

Steve stood on the stairs until Tony came running down them. He seemed oddly cheery, almost unnaturally so. Steve glared at him.

"What's up with you?" He demanded.

"I'm going to figure out a way into her lab today. It's definitely happening. What about you?" Tony retorted. Steve looked up at him.

"Reason one or reason two?" Tony shrugged. "Reason one is because my duplicate and your duplicate are married, they have kids and they are definitely screwing. Reason two is that Bucky's here and he's ignoring me. I have never been more confused, angry and strained in my life," he snapped. Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

"Have we switched personalities or something? I've never heard you curse unless it's 'damn'. Lighten up Steve, we're breaking into a lab today!" And with that, Tony went off in the direction of the kitchen.


	6. Catalogued

**AN: So yeah, it's been a while and I apologize for that. And for those that read my other stuff; I SWEAR I WILL UPDATE SOON. But yeah, school's been hell and I've been busy so here's this, chapter 6 is coming verrrrry soon!**

Chapter 5- Catalogued

With the fact that the kitchen table had enough spots to hold solely the 3490 family and Bucky, the current household took their breakfast to the dining room. The dining room, the alts noticed, was extravagant, designed to fit the needs of a prominent family in the fifties and onward. Now, however, the room looked dated and like an expensive display of old-timey wealth. Bruce noticed that as they entered that Toni sneered at the elegant mahogany floors and paneling walls. And as the cast of Avengers, both 3490 and not, filed into the room with plates in hand, alt Steve could help but stare in awe at the gigantic crystal chandelier suspended over the mahogany table.

Toni, alt Steve noticed, took her place at the head of table with Other Steve sitting down on her right and Angela on her left. Next to Toni's Steve, Peter took his place and across from the boy was James. In various places at the table that could seat twenty- at least- the alt Avengers took their places.

The first few minutes of the "Civilized Breakfast" were quiet; the occasional murmurs from Jane and Thor, the gentle dull _thwick_ of Angela texting someone with one hand under the table and Toni drinking her coffee. Silence, Steve decided, drove him insane.

"So we should be hearing from Reed Richards today, since he sent Sue over yesterday. Hopefully he can tell us what universe you're all from," Toni huffed, taking a bite of crepe.

"If we know what universe we're from, how long will it be till we can get back to it?" Pepper asked. "There are probably papers piling up all over my desk and no doubt the Avengers are being missed." Toni nodded.

"Exactly my thoughts... the first part, not the paper part. There's a lot of factors that play into you guys getting back, most of them involve safety reasons or various inconveniences. Honestly, it's too long for me to explain here and now," Toni replied, taking another sip of her coffee and glancing at her Steve.

"So is there a short version?" Alt Steve asked. She shrugged.

"If I wanted to put effort into explaining it then I would... but I don't, Rogers, so let it be," she purred. At that moment exactly, alt Steve felt the "How Much Do I Dislike Antonia Stark?" scales tip towards mild opposition. His main concern was figuring out if the lilt of her words was truly a venomous insincerity or merely a tactical step for basic enjoyment. "My question for you, any of you, is where you all are in you Universe. Extremis? Viper?" She asked. Her hand slid off the table and, very obviously, to her Steve's knee.

Surprisingly it was Bruce who answered her.

"Tony just battled AIM and the fall of SHIELD wasn't too long ago."

"Wait, your SHIELD _just_ fell?" James hissed. All the alts looked over at him. "I was two when ours fell! That was twenty years ago!" Bucky's hand clamped down on James shoulder.

"Can we not?" He grumbled. Toni glanced down the table, taking another bite of crepes.

"Angela, get off your phone, we're eating. And I don't care if it's Francis, he can wait till after breakfast," she sighed. Angela shot her a look and then put the phone down by her plate

"So what are you all doing now, or were doing?" Other Steve asked over Toni's scolding. Natasha sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"We've been having some regular skirmishes-"

"They're not skirmishes, they are definitely more, and I have the scars to attest to that!" Tony shouted.

"With who?" Peter urged.

"Who? Oh, the, uh, Mandarin," Clint replied. Suddenly Toni stood, pushing her chair back rather violently.

"Toni?" Other Steve asked. She set her napkin back on the table.

"I should, uh, go, uh, call Reed... I'll..." she rushed out of the room, followed by Steve.

\/\/\/

The kitchen was as far as she could get before dropping to her knees and clenching her eyes shut. Almost immediately her breathing rate increased and she was trying to push all the ghosts back. She threw her hands to the side of her head, trying to force down the screams. Vaguely, she felt Steve pull her into his arms and murmur distant words to her. His left hand pushed hair from her face while his right hand massaged her shoulder.

"Toni, come on, I'm here, you're not there, you're with me," he muttered fiercely.

_"Isn't it funny how such a small, delicate thing keeps you alive?"_

A hand flew to her chest and started scratching around at her reactor, struggling to grip it, protect it. Her other hand was braced against the counter above the two.

"Toni, you have to fight it," Steve continued.

_"Keeps you with your family, such darling children you have, Ms. Stark. In fact I was just watching them at school, so strange how little security there is at schools these days, no one to stop men with guns!"_

"Ange- Angie and P-pe-" Steve held her tighter.

"Breathe Toni, come on." He sounded desperate, like he was begging her to be okay.

_"I've tried to reason with your team-" a sickening ripping noise "-I've tried to reason with _you_!" Another rip. "And now, I'm called unreasonable, insane!" The arc reactor pulled free and every muscle in her body tensed. "And that just won't do."_

Every wave of pain that came with the arc reactor being removed from her chest by brute force came back to her, like the attack was just yesterday.

"Toni, _please_," Steve begged. His voice, her anchor, pulled her back. She looked up at him and image of his grimy, bloodied face hovering over hers as he jammed the reactor back into her chest surfaced. She focused on his viciously blue eyes, staring at them as she breathed heavily.

"I'm... I'm alright," she huffed.

Steve's arms pulled tighter around her and they rocked back and forth slightly. What calmed her most was the quiet murmurings of "I love you" as Steve held her. There was nothing other than the words, everything was irrelevant, just her family and no Mandarin.

/\/\/\

"So two hours? I entertain the alts for two hours and then we can work on the reactor?" Toni nodded.

"Yep. Now go on." James, who was leaning against one of her workbenches, smirked as he watched his little brother exit. Toni turned to him, huffed exasperatedly and walked over.

"'The reactor?' The one in your chest?" He asked, arms crossed. He sighed and shook her head.

"We had the stupid idea to try and make a reactor to function as a car engine," she replied. James raised an eyebrow.

"And if the car got into an accident? Wouldn't the nuclear part of the nuclear reactor kind of... backfire?" He asked. She ran a hand through her hair and shook her curls loose from each other.

"Not with what we've been doing with it. Based on my reactor we've been enlarging it but we've been facing issues with the core and a stabilizing agent. It's... rather complicated. But that's not why you're here." She gestured for him to follow and, pushing himself away from the table, Toni led him to her desk. With a swipe of her hand, the computers started up. "I do have a question for you, are you staying for Christmas this year? I'm sure your Mamochka wants you to stay with her too, no doubt, but she has had you for the last two Christmases," she muttered, pulling up the folder filled with suit designs.

"I... I don't know. I think if I spend most of my birthday with Mamochka and Clint then she'll be okay with me staying with you and dad for Christmas. She's gotten really... maternal ever since I moved away for college." Toni nodded and then kicked her roller chair aside.

"Alright, so here's the basics of the suit. Because of what you mentioned on the plane, I added some extra protection in your abdominal area and your neck. The mask, though, is gonna be different. Obviously you're gonna want your trademark look so you need to give me some sketches or something." James leaned towards the screen and manipulated the image a little, zooming in on places. Toni put a hand on his arm. "But James, this is important; until you have the suit, you can't go out again. I don't want you put at risk and until you have proper training and an identity, then being a vigilante isn't a great idea," she said. James, sighing, nodded and stared at the screen.

"So when do we tell dad?" He replied. She let her face fall into her hands, rubbing her temples ever so slightly. Steve was a touchy subject, less so than Natasha but much worse than she wanted to deal with.

"When we need to, what's important right now is figuring out who we can start you training with. Angela's been training with Matt but I fear-"

"Murdock? Matt Murdock? Shit, how has he not let that slip?" James interrupted. Toni shrugged, pulling her arms around herself.

"I don't know, that's why I don't want you with him. I'm thinking you could either work a little with Logan, though I think Angela mentioned that Francis has been doing combat work with him, or Elektra, who in all honesty is probably who both of you ought to be with. If you're sure about this though, then you can't cop out on us, James. It's all or nothing. I want you to do what makes you happy but doing this, being a hero, it'll mean your life is on the backburner. Hell, look at me and your father, he's always on missions, we're always stressed, the threats are innumerable. It can be the shittiest life ever, and it can be the best. I need you to know that," she said seriously, turning to face him. James nodded and pushed himself up onto a workbench.

He'd grown up so much, sometimes it killed Toni. She could still see the man in front of her as the three year old boy who would wake up crying for her, not Steve, because he was scared of eagles and he was afraid that Steve would be upset with him because of that. She still saw him as the little boy who had been the only one able to comfort a distraught female version of Bucky that had crossed over. He wasn't just the son of the Black Widow and Captain America, he was Steve Rogers, Toni Stark, and Natasha Romanoff's boy. In him was everything that was good in his parents, everything passionate in them. He was exactly who had made her a parent, had pushed her to love like a mother.

"And if you take any stupid risks- and this goes for Angela as well- then you are out. No missions, no sympathy. And Ironman will ensure that," she added. James smiled and reached out for her hand.

"I know. Mom, this is what I need to do, I'll be careful, okay?" Toni sighed and nodded, squeezing his hand slightly.

"Alright, well, I gotta call Reed so you can either start sketching masks and names or you can go aid your brother and sister in the 'alt entertainment day'," she huffed. "JARVIS, call Reed, please."

"Calling Mr. Reed."

"Well, I guess I'll go see if I can make amends with dad, and if that doesn't work then it's off to Uncle Bucky." Toni watched him go with a smile, before Reed answered with a wound up "_What_?!".

"Hello to you too."

Reed looked like he always did; tired, flustered and tired. Somewhere else in the lab, no doubt, Sue was doing something just as important that he would forget about till a day and a half later. Toni sometimes wondered if Steve her Sue; always there, always helping, but never getting thanked until she remembered it later. Although, she probably appreciated Steve's presence and constancy more than Reed appreciated Sue's.

"Have you figured out anything about the alts?" Reed ran a hand through his hair and grumbled something.

"Well, sort of... I talked to 616 Reed and Tony and they say they stumbled across the universe- but didn't intervene as per our rules- and they catalogued it as Earth-199999. So we know their designation now and we can catalogue it too. But the real problem is- Sue, what was the thing with their blood?" There was a pause as Sue searched through papers on another desk far behind him. She called something back. "Their blood samples showed that they've all got low levels of gamma radiation. Now, I was monitoring the fabric and it looks like the hole they ripped is too large to send them back now. I'm thinking it will take about a month for the fabric to repair itself. And that's not even considering how large the damage to their fabric must be," Reed finished. Toni, putting her hands on her hips, sighed.

"Alright, well... I guess I should break the news to them..."

\/\/\/

"So basically the fabrics are like sheets between the worlds. Every universe is its own thing and if you have the technology you can cross through them like trains going from station to station. But the problem is if you don't have the technology then you're like a train breaking through brick walls. What you guys did, it's unnatural, against the laws of physics and nature.

"Think of yourselves like a nail, or a group of nails. All bunched together your heads are like the top of an umbrella but your feet are points. So exiting your world was like punching ten nail heads through paper, which would leave a pretty large hole, right? Entering our world flips you guys around, and so now you're entering point in and you kind of come in smoother.

"But here's where it gets more complicated; every universe's fabrics have a personalized heal time. Ours, we've figured takes about three days to patch up a hole the size of a baseball- which is pretty good considering- and judging by some models I mocked up last night you guys left a hole about the size of mini cooper. So all in all it would probably take about four to five months to patch up, four if we wanted to push it. But Reed and Sue have been working on... let's call them universe band-aids- to do quick patches. They're incredibly theoretical but if they could complete it then it would cut down your wait time to about one month rather than five.

"But here's the even _more_ complicated part; we don't know _anything_ about your universe. Until we hear back from Reed, everything is suspended. Now, we now how big our hole is and how long it should take to fix but your fabric is different than ours. We also don't know the extent of the damage you all caused. It could take one day, it could take years, we just don't know. And when we can get you back we need to pinpoint exactly where and when which is a good day of math. It's all very, incredibly confusing," Peter lectured. His audience of the alts and Angela all looked confused, impressed or upset.

"Well we know what universe you're _from_," Toni said, entering the room. They all perked up. "Your designation is 199999, welcome to the Alternate Club, shit's confusing."


	7. My Kids, My Cars

**AN: Hey there! Sorry it's been so long! I posted this on AO3 and then totally forgot to update here! Whoops! Well tada!**

Chapter 6- My Kids, My Cars

Hill stood next to Toni, arms crossed, toe tapping. There was terseness in her entire stance, one that seemed spread around the room. Steve, arm around Toni's waist, watched the director with wary eyes.

"Well I got nothing out of... me... and Fury, they don't know much about it because they didn't get far with it at all," Hill huffed at last. Toni sighed and leaned back into Steve.

"So Other You and Fury know diddly-shit and none of the alt Avengers know anything so we're left with theories and guesses. Honestly, I assembled this department to do some good!" Toni grumbled, shouting the last part to the room full of people in lab coats. Hill smirked out of the corner of her lips and then sighed.

"Reed and Sue are working on the fabric patch thing but overall I think we're pretty screwed." All three readjusted their positions, Toni taking an especially sassy pose, though Steve came in close second. "Fucking alts screwing with shit they don't understand."

"Preach," Toni grumbled back.

"So if that's all, it's getting late and the kids have school tomorrow so we should be getting home," Steve muttered, running his hand over the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, and we need to go pick out a tree tomorrow." Toni groaned. As much as she loved Christmas, the setup was wildly time-consuming and seeing as Toni already had very little of that commodity relaxation was going to be hard. Hill sighed.

"Alright, well, say hi to everyone for me- except for the alts, I'm doing my best to cold-shoulder them," she said tiredly. Toni nodded, grabbed her coat and let Steve lead the way out of the facility.

"You don't want to go tree shopping?" He asked as they got near the lobby. She shrugged.

"I didn't say that... it's just... I don't know, I'm tired and-"

"Too tired for our very rare relaxation day? This is like one of the only days a year where we can just breathe." She sighed loudly, signaling that his pushing would do no good.

"I know, Steve, I know." Letting silence fall between them, Toni climbed into the driver's side of the car.

No matter what mood she was in, the sound of her 2013 Gallardo revving to life always raised her spirits. It had been an impulse buy that she'd made during a particularly stressful week involving the Guardians of the Galaxy and a job interview. It was also a constant consolation prize for the 2014 Aventador that she'd given to Natasha.

"You're quiet over there," Steve murmured. She glanced over at him.

"I'm... thinking," she replied. And in fact, she was. She was thinking about James and Angela, about how she'd need to tell Steve eventually.

"Yeah, about what?" She glanced at him again. _James Angela James Angela_

"The kids," she divulged, wondering how much she would let slip. There was a long pause before both opened their mouths to speak and then they were locked in a "No, you first" battle. She took a breath. "I've been helping them with something that I'm not entirely sure you'd be onboard with." Steve gave a wary look, like half of him was expecting the worst and half of him knew it would be mild.

"Helping them with what?" She sighed and turned into the garage tunnel.

"I've been... I've been letting them train. Angela with Matt and James was going to meet with Elektra tomorrow." Steve looked at her, confusion and anger fighting each for dominance in his expression.

"Why?!" He shouted finally. "What in God's name would make you think that is an okay thing to do?" She turned off the car and leaned her forehead against the wheel. "Toni! I deserve an answer!"

"They're the children of superheroes, Steve, they're gonna go out and fight anyways. I want them to be prepared at least if they do." He groaned angrily.

"Let me guess, you've been making them suits too." She remained silent. His eyes widened. "Goddamn it, Toni! We made an agreement years ago that this wouldn't happen!" He cried. She turned to face him, ferocity in her eyes.

"And then James called me up saying he'd helped stop a robbery. For Christ's sake Steve; open your eyes! They're not going through a phase, this won't stop and I refuse to let my children go out unprepared because I turned a blind eye to the fact that they're out there doing this!" Steve laughed cruelly.

"I haven't turned a blind eye, I knew that they were doing basic things but I figured I could handle it. Now that I know you're countering all my efforts-"

"No! You're being naïve! Damn it Steve! We've set these examples for them, we're superheroes and you _don't_ expect them to go off crime-fighting? It's nurture versus nature, Steve, and these kids have both!" Steve glared at her. Toni opened the car door violently and slammed it shut on her way out, frustrated. Steve followed suit.

"You don't get to walk away from this!" He snapped. She turned and faced him.

"I'm not, Steve. I'm here, right here, right now. But what I'm not going to do is stand here and let you yell at me for doing what's best for my kids," she retorted.

"James isn't _your_ kid! For fuck's sake Toni, Natasha is his mother! Natasha is his mother and I'm his father!"

There were fights where Toni had stepped over the line, or where Steve had said something that pulled the wrong string in Toni. There had been fights where Toni stormed out of the house and left for Pepper's with Peter, Angela and sometimes James, or times where she'd left them with Steve. There'd been fights where Steve spent a night in the attic ignoring everyone except for Bucky. There had never _ever_ been a fight where Steve had pulled the "You're Not James's Mother" card. Never because she _was_ his mother. She'd raised him alongside Steve and Natasha.

In one swift movement she was in front of him, fist clenching and jaw set.

"Don't _ever_ say that again," she hissed, glaring at him. "I am as much his mother as Peter, Angela, Francis and Kate are his siblings. You can say anything you want about me, but our children are off-limits and if you ever repeat that you can be sure that Peter, Angela and I _will not_ be home the next day." And with that she stormed away from him.

Stumbling across Tony trying to hack her system and break into her lab had been the last straw. Steve and that argument was one thing, and it had put in a bad mood. The fuck-up from 199999 attempting to screw with her stuff was another.

"What are you doing?" She snapped upon discovering him. At the sound of her voice he practically leapt out of his skin.

"Oh... hello..." he replied.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" She repeated.

"I was... examining your system. I wanted to ensure it is... top notch...?" he muttered. She gritted her teeth and then grumbled something.

"I'm you. I'm literally and female you and you think that shit excuse is going to not rouse suspicion? Jesus fucking Christ, I've dealt with too many of your kinds of Tony to not have a Stark-proof lock system." Tony stared at her warily. "Go. Just get away from me before I blow my top."

When she entered the shop, James and Peter were in it, both fussing over something and arguing about it.

"No, look, the center of the reactor isn't stable enough that way. If you do it-"

"Peter, I'm a student at MIT, I think I know what I'm taking about," James snapped.

"_James_," Peter replied, in his mocking tone that he clearly picked up from his mother. "Mom and I have been working on this for a month and a half now. I think I know what_ I'm _talking about."

"Boys," Toni interrupted. Both turned around to face her. "The problem isn't the stability of the reactor; I figured that out on the drive over to SHIELD HQ, the problem is quarantining the radiation that it will produce. Now, James, come here, I have to talk to you. I'll help with that in just a sec, Peter." Peter sneered at his older brother. James, shooting Peter a sneer as well, walked over to Toni and ran a hand through his shaggy red hair.

"Mom?" he asked, concern lacing his tone.

"I made the shit mistake of telling your father so we're... not in a good place right now. Just don't bring it up and try to avoid the subject please, kiddo." He nodded and bit his lip.

"So is staying here for Christmas a good idea?" She sighed.

"Yes. Yes, completely. Your father and Angela just left to go buy the tree and we were going to decorate it tonight. I have a feeling that it will be a long night though," she muttered. James nodded. "Alright, well... I'm going to help Peter with this project. You can stay if you want." James sighed and shook his head.

"No, I ought to go see Mamochka, tell her the plan." Toni nodded, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Love you, kid," she sighed. He flashed her a smile and rubbed the back of her hand.

"Don't let dad give you hell over this thing, he's in the wrong and he knows it," he whispered and then left. Toni took a deep breath, stared at the door for a minute and then walked over to Peter. _So much like Steve,_ she couldn't help but think as Peter gave her a look and James's concerned tone replayed in her head.

"What was that about?" he asked. Toni sighed and shook her head, staring at the troublesome reactor prototype.

"Just some issues with your father. So, like I said, our problem is containing the radiation it's gonna give off, which means a containment barrier. Ideas, go," she said, leaning against the bench and chewing on the end of a pencil.

"Well obviously that means a lightweight radiant-suppressing metal like lead but that's too heavy. There was that lightweight fabric someone created in 2002... Demron I think it's called, that could work as well," Peter answered, glaring at the prototype like it was a problem child that was giving him grief. Toni nodded apprehensively, still chewing on the pencil.

"Yeah... But then comes the problem of upkeep, I mean how would you keep a thin sheet of fabric maintained in a car? What it breaks? Or has a hole? The lead's too heavy and platinum's too expensive, so it boils down to creating an alloy of something." Peter sighed deeply and crossed his arms.

"So weave in the lead with the fabric then balance the extra weight in the back and give the car a raised wheel frame and good shocks so it can take the weight," he replied. Toni popped the pencil out of her mouth and nodded, grinning.

"Perfect. Order the Demron and we'll get some lead sheets maybe later today. Next part of this is figuring out what car we're going to test it on," she said, her calm excitement playing with her voice.

"One of yours? Or a new one?" he asked, looking over at the picture of Toni and her six cars at some show. _Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari_.

"Whatever you decide... well actually my cars are off-limits but you can pick a new one if you want." Peter bit his lip, staring wistfully at the red and white-racing-striped Ferrari and the dark teal 70s Barracuda on his mother's left and right in the photo.

"Can we do a 'Cuda?" he asked finally. Toni grinned. _I've raised him right_.

"Hell yeah, kid." Peter smiled. "Come on, let's get some food, and maybe relieve Bruce from Alt Watch."


	8. Bad Memories Surface

Chapter 7- Bad Memories

Toni stared at the tree begrudgingly. It _did_ look good but it was a Resentment Tree rather than a Christmas Tree, filled with too-cheerily bright lights and perfectly dispersed red and gold ornament bulbs. Every inch of it made frustration rise up in her. _He's in the wrong and he knows it_. _He knows it_. _He knows it. He knows..._

"I'm hitting the hay mom, you staying up a little later?" James murmured, rocking her back into reality. She looked up at him, retracting her glare from the tree.

"Yeah, kiddo, I'm staying up a little later. I'll see you in the morning," she replied, taking a sip of her scotch. He ran a hand over her shoulder, squeezing just slightly before letting go.

"If you stare at the tree any harder, it'll burst into flames." She flashed him a smile as he let go and walked away._ I need to call Angela down to the shop tomorrow and talk to her about training. And grades... that C in physics is worrying._

With the click of the door closing, Toni finished her scotch and sighed, realizing she'd have to go confront Steve in a minute. She chewed on her lip and tipped her head back. It had been sixteen years since she was pregnant but her hand still instinctively went to her stomach when she was stressed.

With a huff, she pushed herself up and asked JARVIS to turn off the lights behind her. The quiet of the halls that she took on her way up to her room calmed her, prepped her for dealing with Steve. But, to her surprise, their bedroom was empty upon her entrance. Steve's half-read book was missing and the bed was unnaturally well-made. All signals that he'd only been in the room to get his things.

"That asshole," she muttered under her breath. She set her shoulders and stormed down to the room past Angela's, the one that Steve always took if their fights got bad enough. She threw the door open and marched in.

The room was awash in light from the bedside light, the mostly empty bookshelves and far desk colored by the dim orange glow. The room itself was curiously empty, one of the many rooms that bothered Toni with its simplicity. The grand bed was now occupied by Captain America himself, book in hand, and an unsurprised expression.

Gently setting the book down, he sighed and held his mildly annoyed look. It was a rather odd contrast to Toni's furious expression, nostrils flaring ever so slightly. He ran a hand through his hair and huffed.

"Don't bother asking for me to go back tonight, we've clearly got some issues that we need to work out on our own first," he said, sounding rather diplomatic. With a over-the-top roll of her eyes, she dropped herself unceremoniously onto the armchair behind her.

"Oh please, Steve, we're big kids. I came to be snippy; I'm too pissed to get into bed with you." Steve sighed and redirected his gaze to the ceiling.

"This is exactly why I came here," he grumbled.

"To avoid me? We're not three, Steve, you can't run from this one. This is important to me, these are our kids and I won't see them hurt and I think this is the only way to prevent that from happening." Part of her was appalled by how reasonable she sounded; she was supposed to be the raging, screaming one. Steve was the calm one.

"I'm not acting like a three year old, Toni, I'm..."

"What? Avoiding these issues?" She snapped. He glared at her.

"I need some space," he retorted. Toni narrowed her eyes.

"Of course, shall I empty the house for you, your highness? Ask James not to spend Christmas with us? We need to talk about this not avoid it." He gritted his teeth and Toni knew at that moment all that had been reasonable in her was now gone.

"I'm not avoiding it! I'm trying to save our marriage!"

_"So that's it? You were just going to never tell me? Just get the abortion and pretend like nothing ever happened?" Steve cried. She suddenly felt small, like everything that he was saying was true and she was entirely at fault. _Am I? Am I? Am I?

_ "No, but I just don't want to kept it," she muttered back. Steve threw his hands to his side._

_ "And your argument is that you don't think you'd make a good mother! Toni, have you seen yourself with James? He doesn't want me to make the nightmares go away, he doesn't want me to read him his books or spend the day with him. He wants you to but you're here arguing that you're not a mother-"_

_ "It's because I'm not! I'm like his aunt!" Steve shook his head fiercely._

_ "He calls you 'Mom'." Toni's hands went to her belly. "There! It's instinctive! You're just afraid!" He cried._

_ "I am _not_ afraid of anything Steve Rogers!" She shouted. Steve suddenly shrunk back. "I just won't do things for other before I do things for myself!" She spun on her heel, making for the gym._

_ "Where are you going?! We are not finished with this!" Steve snapped._

_ "To the gym, and we are, because I'm trying to save this marriage."_

"Well have fun with that," she said, and left. There was a bitterness to her voice, a tone that could cut through stone.

Fights came naturally to the Stark-Rogers household, especially its leaders but Toni hated it when they lasted overnight. Somehow, she'd decided, it meant that it was more than just a spat. Somehow it meant that there was a real problem between them, a rift that would steadily grow if they didn't reconcile. And every time it happened it would lead her back to their first overnight fight one way or another.

_"Antonia! Get out of the shop! How many times must I tell you?" Howard shouted, flinging a hand across Toni's cheek. She cried out and pressed a small, chubby hand against the now reddened cheek._

_ "I'm sorry, daddy!" She cried. She could feel the tears that she didn't want to come start streaming down her face._

_ It was the second to last time she ever cried. She didn't cry when Maria drunkenly flung a whiskey bottle inches from her head. She didn't cry when Harold slammed him foot down on, and subsequently destroyed, her first AI robot, the one she'd stayed up talking with at night. She didn't cry when she realized what a fuck-up she was._

_ She did cry when she felt Obadiah's hand creep under her shirt and fiddle with her bra strap._

_ She had learned from her father that tears were a weakness and shedding them made you spineless._

_ Instead she wore the blood red lipstick so she could give the press the blood they wanted. Instead she held the meaningless boys- and the occasional girl- close for that fiery, burning moment. She cracked the snide comments to keep those around her at arm's length. She pretended that everything was a joke and that everyone was a lesser. It kept her from reliving every awful thing._

_ The violence masked her weaknesses. The drinking hid her fear. The remarks covered up her pain. Breaking Justin Hammer's left wrist was for him kidnapping her. Busting one of his nuts with a rather well-placed, high-powered kick was for the hand he tried to get in her panties at her mother's birthday party. Burning her mother's favorite plum tree in the garden was for every drunken comment, for every time she ignored Howard's violent outbursts. Attending their funeral drunk and shouting "Fuck what they thought of me, right? Fuck them!" was for every bit of pain they caused her. Pouring her finest bottle of scotch on Obie's grave and lighting on fire was for his betrayal._

Toni woke with a start, sweat on her forehead and making her body stick to the sheets. She didn't want to remember those things, tried not to. Steve was supposed to make those go away... where was he?

Pushing aside her previous anger and wrapping a robe around her, she rushed toward the room Steve was in. She slipped in and was in bed next to Steve in an instant, curling up against him. He woke up with a rushing intake up breath and looked over.

"Toni...?" he murmured.

"I know you're still pissed but... but I couldn't sleep, will you please just hold me right now?" she replied, burying her face in his shoulder so as to hide the tears.

"I... of course." He rolled over and slid his arms around her.

"I'm sorry I fuck everything up. I love you," she muttered into his chest, saying it with a finality as if it was less of an apology and more of a statement.

"I love you too, Toni... I'm sorry I'm so stubborn."

But the way he said it told Toni that he didn't know why she was suddenly giving in, the way he said it sounded as if he couldn't guess her nightmares.

But bad memories surfaced and good memories sunk, as is life.


End file.
